Q. I heard on your radio show a woman who is concerned about irregular heart rhythms after drinking caffeinated beverages. I have trouble with this as well. When I want to drink coffee or tea, I take a combination of... (Read More)
Vitamin Q&A
Q. I have found vitamin B1 to be an effective deterrent for mosquito bites. I was recently in an area where I got multiple mosquito bites daily that itched unbearably. I developed open sores from scratching in my sleep, even... (Read More)
Q. My vitamin D level is low and my doctor said I should spend more time in the sun. He didn't provide details and I don't like to sit outside in direct sunlight. Is indirect sunlight (under an umbrella) just... (Read More)
Q. The label on my multivitamin says 400 IU of vitamin D3 is the daily recommended amount. In a recent column, Dr. Oz said men over 60 years old (like me) should take 1,000 IU of D3 daily. A doctor... (Read More)
Q. My son has Raynaud's phenomenon, which is very painful when it is cold. I heard that eating more bananas and potatoes could help because of the magnesium in them. The mineral is supposed to relax constricted blood vessels. Is... (Read More)
Q. I have read recently that low levels of vitamin D could make people more likely to get cancer. But I have also read that too much vitamin D is dangerous. Can you tell me what is an appropriate amount... (Read More)
Q. I have reactive hypoglycemia. Though doctors didn't help, a nutritionist did. Eating smaller, more frequent meals of protein and healthy fats, easy on carbs, seems to avert my hypoglycemic symptoms most of the time. My nutritionist recommends a daily... (Read More)
Q. I currently follow a strict vegetarian diet and consume no animal products at all. Since vitamin B12 is missing from the vegan diet, I wonder how many micrograms of it I should take. I've seen B12 pills of up... (Read More)
Q. Back in the 1970s I had an attack of kidney stones while on vacation. I was rushed to the hospital, where I was told that at 32 I was young for kidney stones but that they were caused by... (Read More)
Q. Last October I started having neurological symptoms. My hands were falling asleep every night with pins and needles. The symptoms got worse and I developed pain in my neck, upper back and arms. Sometimes my feet would fall asleep... (Read More)
Q. I am a retired professor, so what I did for a living for 40 years was talk. It's a paradox because I suffered from stuttering, particularly the 'block' type you get when you have to give a speech. I... (Read More)
Q. I used to catch lots of colds every year. When I was tested for vitamin D a few years ago, it was really low. I took a lot of vitamin D to get into the normal range. Since then... (Read More)
Q. Would taking an iron supplement ease RLS (restless legs syndrome) symptoms? I was part of a blinded study at Johns-Hopkins where I either had an iron infusion or a placebo. I was "cured" for over a year, but the... (Read More)
Q. I suffered from chronic hives for years without much help from the allergist or the dermatologist. The medicines they prescribed did little to relieve my symptoms and left me in a fog. I was becoming a hermit. Following... (Read More)